The air is warm and buttery as workers knead mounds of raisin-flecked dough inside the Kexerei bakery in Dresden. This is the busiest time of year but, like every other business and household in the country, the firm’s bills are going up, diminishing the festive cheer.
“Wages have increased drastically, energy costs have risen, as have the prices for our ingredients – butter has doubled in price,” says owner Matthias Walther. “I can’t pass all that on to the customers.”
It’s an issue that preoccupies the German government too. Wary of the impact on the economy, it’s spending around €300bn ($310bn; £260bn) on measures aimed at shielding people and industry from higher prices, particularly soaring energy bills.
